Monday, September 27, 2010

Navy playing in the water with Helo

An official at NAS North Island in San Diego confirmed the authenticity of the video that shows two $33 million MH-60 Romeo helicopters flying over Lake Tahoe on Sept. 13. One of the helicopters appears to come dangerously close to the water before the pilot is able to regain altitude.

US Navy officials from the Pentagon told NBC News this was not a training mission, but that the two helicopter crews were allegedly attempting to take photos of each other’s helicopters hovering just above the waters of Lake Tahoe with the mountains as a majestic backdrop when their photo op went horribly wrong.

Navy officials say the pilots had attempted to go into a routine "hover" but because of the altitude of Lake Tahoe and the weight of the aircraft, the chopper descended and partially submerged before both pilots increased power, pulled the choppers out of the water and averted a disaster.